All Russian Imperial Projects have Been Unprofitable and have Delayed the Development of the Homeland, Nikulin Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 18 – All Russian imperial projects be they nearby or far away in Africa or the Americas have been unprofitable and have only delayed the development of the homeland, Andrey Nikulin says, in sharp contrast to the European efforts that they have sought to copy but without the justification the latter had.

            Unlike Russia, European countries were both small and lacked the natural resources they needed for development and thus benefitted from seizing territories overseas in order to develop their own countries, the Russian commentator says. But Russia is large, has plenty or resources, and doesn’t use any resources it manages to seize to develop itself.

            Instead, Nikulin says, the amount it spends on conquest is typically greater than the benefits it receives and the conquests themselves are used to justify the policies of governments which have no intention of developing Russia itself but only enriching those in power (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=62FDC53358D73&section_id=50A6C962A3D7C).

            That was always true in the past, and it is true now whether one is speaking about Putin’s adventures in Africa or his invasion of Ukraine. Neither is justified, and both will cost Russia and Russians dearly, however much Putin’s propagandists seek to suggest elsewhere. That is because the two are all of a piece of a past that has repeatedly offered the same lessons.